CHAPTER FOUR
One day, after dropping Robbie off at school for an early morning swim practice, I decided to go to the hotel and check on things there. Darryl had mentioned walking on the beach, and I wanted to see if he’d been able to do that. The exercise might do him good, provided he had the isolation he needed.
It was quiet at the hotel. I walked through it and out to the beach. I saw a couple holding hands walking together, an older woman looking for shells, and in the distance, a man I thought might be Darryl walking towards me.
I headed in his direction. Before he reached me, I noticed Abbie Hathaway jog by him. She stopped beside me as Darryl approached us.
“Good morning,” I said and waited to see how they’d react to each other. I couldn’t introduce them to each other and keep to a privacy policy.
“Nice to see you here, Ann,” said Abbie. She turned to Darryl. “You, too. I’m Abbie Hathaway, a personal trainer.”
Darryl smiled shyly. “Really? I could use one. Do you have any free time?”
Abbie studied him, and I noticed Darryl tighten his stomach. “Yes, I do have some free time.”
“Okay, great,” he said. “I’m Darryl, and I’m staying in one of the houses on the property. Maybe we could discuss setting up a schedule.”
“Fine. I’m staying in the other house. A little later, I’ll walk over to talk to you.”
“Okay, we’ll meet there.” Darryl walked away from us.
Abbie looked at me. “I didn’t dare tell him I knew who he was. I almost didn’t recognize him in that baseball cap. But Darryl Douglas is so well known that he’s going to have trouble going unnoticed.”
“Maybe after working with him, he won’t be as recognizable,” I said, not unkindly. “Where’s Tina?”
“I can be a tough trainer but even I know the importance of Tina getting rest. We start training at nine. And she can be stubborn. But I guess you know that. She told me all about her first stay here at the hotel.”
“It was touch and go for a while, but Tina settled down after we were able to trust one another. She was one of our first guests to require complete seclusion, but we’ve had a lot since then.”
Abbie indicated the space around us. “This is beautiful. No wonder everyone talks about The Beach House Hotel being very special.”
“Thanks. Rhonda and I try to keep that feeling going by insisting on a great staff eager to please. Bernhard Bruner manages the hotel for us, and he has a stellar reputation. We’re lucky to have him.”
“Guess I’d better go and get ready to work out with Tina,” said Abbie.
“Will it be a problem working with both Tina and Darryl?” I asked.
Abbie grinned. “I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.” She trotted away, and I thought maybe she wasn’t as shy as I’d first thought.
###
When Rhonda arrived at the hotel, I filled her in on my meeting with Darryl and Abbie on the beach.
“Good thing ‘you know who’ didn’t see you,” said Rhonda.
“It was too early even for Brock,” I said. “I’m curious though to find out more about Abbie.”
“She must have a website. Let’s look her up,” said Rhonda after taking a sip of coffee. She typed in her name and came up with a website. “Here it is. Abbie Hathaway, personal trainer to the stars. And look, Annie, she’s the youngest in her family, with four older brothers. That’s the reverse of Darryl. There’s potential here.” Her smile widened as she rubbed her hands together.
“Oh, no! You’re not going to try any of your matchmaking skills with her and Darryl, are you?” The thought of Rhonda trying to put the two of them together made my stomach flip.
“I admit it’s a little early to think of how to make it work, but I like the idea,” said Rhonda.
“We don’t know either of them very well. It might backfire,” I protested. Rhonda was convinced she was an excellent matchmaker when, in truth, nature, not she, paired people up.
“I’ll know as time passes if I’m right, but there’s no reason for me not to try,” said Rhonda. “Just take a look at Lorraine and Arthur. I’ve never seen them this happy.”
I couldn’t deny it. The two of them acted like young lovers. “What else does the website say?” I asked, looking over Rhonda’s shoulder.
A list of clients included Sinclair Smith. I checked out Abbie’s training and was very impressed by her education. No wonder she could charge such high fees. The woman knew what she was doing.
“We’d better get to our Christmas campaign ideas,” I said to her. “We need to announce that it’s not too early to book rooms and dining facilities for Christmas parties. I don’t want to get caught turning away people like we had to do last year.”
“Yeah, that was a mess,” Rhonda agreed.
“Even though it’s a few months away, we need to talk to Bernie about bonuses for people who sign up to work Christmas and New Year’s Day.”
“It was great to be able to offer them something extra on top of their Christmas bonus. It helped a lot of families celebrate the holiday.” Rhonda grinned. “You know I love Christmas.”
“Oh yes,” I replied. Our first Christmas together was loads of fun for us and our girls. A far different experience from mine growing up when it was just a dutiful, cold grandmother and me.
We were working on holiday bookings when Dorothy appeared. Short and stocky and with short gray hair, she was a bundle of energy for someone her age. Her thick glasses made her eyes look large behind them, and one got the feeling she didn’t miss much.
“Hi, Dorothy,” I said. “Nice to see you. What brings you here today? You’re scheduled for tomorrow.”
“I couldn’t wait to tell you the latest news about Brock,” she said. “He’s now trying to get the Neighborhood Association to pass a new rule that the president be notified of any VIP guests arriving in the neighborhood.”
“That’s bullshit. He’s just mad because we won’t tell him or anyone else who’s staying here at the hotel,” said Rhonda.
“Even if such a crazy rule passed, we’re under no obligation to abide by it,” I said, unable to hold back a chuckle. “I think the man is losing it.”
“He’s become a joke among us, but he does a remarkable job in trying to build his self-importance,” said Dorothy. “At any rate, I thought you should be warned. He’s going to try to make a point of finding out who’s here at the hotel.”
“Just what we need,” grumped Rhonda. “We’re talking about the Christmas holiday. Are you willing to help us with our employee Christmas party like you did last year?”
“I’d be honored,” said Dorothy. “And with the Hanukkah and Kwanzaa celebrations too. That makes my holiday complete.”
“It’s months away but we want to be better prepared this year, so we can spend time with our own families. The triplets should be a lot of fun this Christmas.”
“It’s very exciting for me to see all the changes with both the hotel and your families in the past several years,” said Dorothy. “I feel a part of it.”
Rhonda got up out of her chair and hugged Dorothy. “You were our first volunteer. We’ll always be grateful.”
Back when we started, Dorothy had helped with mailings and worked with me in setting up various business files. A successful businesswoman herself, she was very capable.
“I’d better go. I’ll see you tomorrow,” said Dorothy.
After Dorothy left, Rhonda turned to me. “Brock is a real jackass. But we’d better be careful.”
“Let’s walk over to the houses and talk to Darryl, Tina, and Abbie,” I said. “They have a right to know what we’re up against.”
###
Rhonda and I knocked on the door to the house Darryl was staying in.
Darryl appeared wearing swim trunks, a T-shirt, and sneakers. He’d shaved his head, giving him a different but appealing look. Maybe it was the thought of him with four older sisters that made me feel as if he was someone to cuddle.
“Hi,” he said. “Can I help you with something?”
“We’ve had some distressing news,” I said. “A neighbor, a truly irksome guy who thinks he’s important because he’s the president of the Neighborhood Association, feels he should know who’s staying at our hotel. We promised you security, but you must be alert to the situation.”
“Yeah,” said Rhonda. “You want to be careful when speaking to others, especially when you’re on the beach.”
“I know you like to walk there in the early morning,” I said.
“You’d better talk to Abbie too. She’s here with me now. She’s going to be training me.” He turned and called out, “Abbie, there’s something you need to hear.”
Rhonda nudged me so hard I almost stumbled. I could see her mind working on a way to bring these two together romantically.
Abbie came up behind Darryl. “What’s going on?”
Rhonda and I filled her in on the situation.
“Oh, yes,” said Abbie. “I think I met him after you left the beach, Ann. His name is Brock something. Right?”
“That’s the bastard,” said Rhonda. “What did he want?”
“He asked who I was and where I was staying. I didn’t give him any information, I merely said I wasn’t interested.”
Rhonda and I exchanged amused glances.
“Guess he was surprised when you told him that, huh?” I said.
Abbie shook her head. “Working where I do, I meet a lot of people with big egos. His was humongous.”
Darryl stood by listening to the exchange with a thoughtful expression.
“Both of you need to be careful,” I repeated.
“We will,” said Darryl. “Thanks for letting us know.”
Rhonda and I left the house and headed to Tina next door.
Rhonda turned to me. “What did I tell you? I sensed something possible between them right away. Now, all they need is a little push from me.”
“That’s exactly what they don’t need. Let them work together on training and keep out of the rest,” I said.
“We’ll see,” said Rhonda, and I knew she wouldn’t let it go.
Tina greeted us with excitement. “Hey, are you here for a little girl gab?”
“Sort of,” I said. “Brock Goodwin is at it again. He’s trying to find a way to discover who’s staying at the hotel. We wanted to warn you to be careful.”
Tina clucked her tongue. “Does he ever stop annoying people?”
“Not if he can help it,” joked Rhonda. “We’ve already told Darryl and Annie.” Her face lit up with a smile. “What’s going on between them? I think there’s a chance for a long-term commitment there. I’m working on it.”
Tina glanced at me and laughed before facing Rhonda. “I wouldn’t bet money on it. Abbie is used to working with some very handsome, successful men who make a play for her. She told me she was not interested in anyone. Certainly not one in the entertainment industry. But I’ve met Darryl and he seems very nice.”
“I tried to tell her,” I said, feeling helpless.
“Don’t worry about Abbie. She can take care of herself,” said Tina, and we let the issue drop.